Cataracts are a fairly common condition for most elderly adults. In fact, by the age of 80, more than half of all Americans will have either had cataract surgery or will currently have cataracts. Cataracts happen when the lens of your eye becomes clouded. As you might be able to imagine, this would make your vision clouded. Cataracts are not going to get better over time and will instead worsen. This means that you will eventually need to get surgery to remove the cataracts unless you want to spend your entire life with blurred, clouded vision. If you want to prevent cataracts from occurring, there are a few things that you can do for your health and diet.
Food & Nutrition Diet (Meal Plan) for Cataracts
#1 Recommended Breakfast Diet for Cataracts
The main things you are going to want to focus on are an increased intake of Vitamin E and Vitamin C. This means that it will be up to you to carefully choose the bulk of your meals as there isn’t a significant amount of Vitamins E or C in meats. Instead these foods will make up the sides and flavors of your meals. For breakfast, you will want to consider adding some almonds or strawberries to your breakfast. Almonds are high in Vitamin E and strawberries have a considerable amount of Vitamin C in them. If you are really feeling up to some flavors in the morning, then adding some papaya or orange to your breakfast will increase your intake of Vitamin C.
#2 Recommended Lunch Diet for Cataracts
For lunch, you will want to look at adding some cantaloupe and green peppers to your main dish. These are both high in Vitamin C, which has been shown to be associated with vision. For your intake of Vitamin E, you will want to look at eating something with some peanuts or peanut butter. This could be as simple as a sandwich or you could eat the peanuts as a side to your meal. These foods both have some Vitamin E in them. If you want to eat some more almonds, then this is a great choice for you as almonds have a considerable amount of Vitamin E in them. Individuals following a healthy diet that includes whole grains and vegetables may show a decreased risk of cataracts.
#3 Recommended Dinner Diet for Cataracts
Dinner is generally where vegetables come in but there aren’t many vegetables that have a lot of Vitamins E or C in them. If you are doing some cooking, you might want to look at adding some safflower oil as this has a lot of Vitamin E in it. If you cannot obtain safflower oil, then corn oil is also suitable, although it has about half as much Vitamin E in it. For your source of Vitamin C, you will want to add some more raw green peppers, tomato juice, and raw broccoli to your dinner. While raw vegetables aren’t always the most appetizing thing, having good eyesight will allow you to enjoy life to the fullest for as long as you can.
#4 Recommended Snacks Diet for Cataracts
When you are looking for snacks, you are generally going to want to stick to fruits and nuts. While most people wouldn’t eat grapefruit as a snack, although it is high in Vitamin C, there are some snacks that are much more feasible. Strawberries, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds are all great choices. If you are looking for a bit more flavor, you might want to consider roasted nuts or ones that are lightly salted. However, be careful with this as you do not want to decrease the nutritional value of your snacks solely for the sake of taste.
#5 Recommended Drinks for Cataracts
Most of the drinks that are recommended for people who have cataracts are liquefied versions of their solid counterparts. For instance, if oranges and grapefruits are suggested for their high amounts of Vitamin C, then orange juice and grapefruit juice will be your go-to. In fact, these drinks will even have more Vitamin C in them as they will be much more concentrated than a single orange or grapefruit. This makes them a perfect drink that not only adds some citrus zest to your life but also improves your health.
#6 Recommended Herbs for Cataracts
There are not many herbs that will help people who are looking to prevent and reduce the chance of cataracts. The closest thing to an herb would be safflower oil and that is an oil, not an actual herb. With this being said, there are some herbs that people believe enhance eyesight. If you are able to find such herbs, then you might consider adding them to your diet as well. Taking turmeric can also help reduce inflammation which may reduce the risk of cataracts.
#7 Recommended Fruits for Cataracts
Much of the foods that contain Vitamins E and C are going to be fruits or nuts. Oranges, grapefruits, papaya, cantaloupe, green peppers and strawberries are all fruits that have a notable amount of Vitamin C in them. There are not many fruits at all that contain Vitamin E in them. If you cannot eat an entire fruit such as a grapefruit, you might want to consider adding it into your diet somewhere else, such as in the form of a juice.
#8 Recommended Vitamin/s for Cataracts
The two main vitamins that you will want to keep an eye on are Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Vitamin C has been shown to slow the progression of several eye-related diseases that are associated with age. This gives reason to believe that an increased amount of Vitamin C in your diet can also decrease the progression, chances, and severity of cataracts as well. Vitamin C is generally found in citrus and acidic fruits. Vitamin E is a vitamin that benefits the entire body, including the eyes. It specializes in protecting the membranes of cells against damages caused by the byproduct of metabolism (free radicals). Having a vitamin that protects the membrane of the cells is crucial when you want to prevent a condition such as cataracts. Vitamin E is hard to obtain through food but almonds, vegetable oils, pecans, and sunflower seeds are all good and easily obtainable sources.
#9 Recommended Mineral/s for Cataracts
Because most of the focus is in vitamins and that area of nutrition, there are not many minerals that will alter the chances of getting cataracts. Instead, you should focus on making sure that you are getting all the minerals that you need so that your body doesn’t have to compensate for a deficiency. Keeping your body healthy will go a long way in preventing cataracts.
#10 Discouraged Foods for Cataracts
Similar to minerals, there are really no foods that are discouraged for cataracts. Instead, you should focus on eating a healthy, well-rounded diet. However, a diet high in carbohydrates may increase cataract risk. Making sure that your body is getting all the nutrients that it needs will ensure that the chances of developing a condition such as cataracts will decrease. This is generally a good thing.
- READ MORE
